A Week of Productivity
Over the last seven days, I’ve written three short stories that comes to a total of roughly 15,000 words. Some of these have working titles, but the three pieces are: Two Brains ~7,000 words, Filling Gaps 3,399 exactly (it is for a competition that only allows 3,400 words), and Multiplying Secrets ~5,000 words. All three are different than my traditional short fiction, due to the fact that I applied my manuscript writing style to them. This means, each one was heavily outlined, had a specific flow, and had research behind it. A traditional short story for me was a way to workout different mechanisms, technique, and narration to better my manuscripts. After four years of writing short stories with their goal of being experimentation, I have decided to apply what I’ve learned to the next batch and see what I can get published. All three are strong and have been sent out to trusted sources for review. One, Two Brains, is actually in the universe of my some of my manuscripts and is mostly prepped to be sent to a magazine. The other two are still going through the “chute” to be reviewed, commented on, and edited.
Read MoreMy Middle Finger has an Unlucky Miasma
My middle finger has been the subject of a tendon injury, a razor blade which cut the same tendon, and now, a new injury has appeared. While with friends at an annual slip and slide party, a rouge inflatable obstacle course took mobility from my middle finger. There was a section where you climb over a hill with a rope. As I climbed with everything I had, the rope wrapped itself around my finger without my knowledge. Once I cleared the obstacle I dove, and while I glided to freedom, I was yanked back as the rope cinched and crushed my finger. As my finger slowly turns into a bratwurst, all I can hope for is that I can write tomorrow so I can put some distance on my projects. Each hour it turns more and more purple as blood pools into the area. Since I could type with a splint on my finger, I imagine I can write with an ever enlarging sausage.
Read MoreTime, Pain, and Family – I’m Still Alive
I know it has been sometime since I last posted, but I have had to rearrange my priorities and posting here is low on the list. I’ve mentioned this in the past, but the website is the last priority when it comes to writing. With work taking up 40-50 hours a week, I have to look at what will help me excel and achieve what is most important to me: becoming a full time writer. In order to do that, I need to read, write, and edit. My goal for each week is to read or write for forty hours. I have fallen short on that goal because summer hits like a giant unproductive hammer.
During summer, I focus heavily on spending time with my family and friends. This is healthy for me, but bad for my dream as I cannot write when I am with my family or friends because I am there to spend time with them. So I burn the candle on both ends. Which led me to burning out and entering a state of low productivity.
Then, add in the fact that I was typing upwards of sixty hours a week (between work and fiction writing), and I end up with a consistent pain in my forearm which is a flare up of tendentious and carpel tunnel from rock climbing. As I am typing this, I stopped work on a short story and novella (manuscript 7 is still being outlined and has been bumped to manuscript 8 because a different short story got too long and is now considered manuscript 7); I stopped writing because the pain was flaring up and keeping me from getting into my groove where the world ceases to exist and I live in what I’ve created. After a couple of sentences I have to take a break and stretch my left arm so I can type a little more. This leads to disjunctive writing, which is fine for a post, but horrible for a cohesive story.
The ramifications from not being able to write as much as I want has sent me into a positive feedback loop where I keep spiraling further and further from what makes me happy. But, I keep plugging away and swimming for the surface, and I think I can see the shimmering waves above me (it’s called Fall or Autumn (if you are pretentious)). I’ve begun to go back to the basics in order to leave this lack of writing behind: journal writing, reading non-fiction, and day dreaming in the worlds I’ve created.
So, I am alive, I am writing (albeit not as much as I want to), and I have a bunch of half-finished posts I will flesh out over the next couple of weeks so there is more activity here. I’ll also talk a little more about manuscript 8 (this was manuscript 7) and the new manuscript 7.
Read MoreHow About Some Drinks
I am often out on the town, and depending on my mood, I will just sit in a chair and enjoy a drink by myself. But often, I overhear conversations and they fascinate me; on rare occasions, I will request the backstory that led to that current diatribe, and in those instances, I have never been declined.
Tonight was one of those nights, and I got pulled into a world I would never experience; mostly because I am male. Side note: the women of our world fascinate me and their experiences are wildly different from mine. So when I got to hear about a stalker, first hand, I couldn’t turn away. My take away wasn’t that this woman was fearful (she was, let us not diminish the fact that this man was stalking her, and she did have a founded fear about him and verbalized that to me), but she was more concerned about him embarrassing her at her work place.
He followed her to her work place, even after she had called the police and they had become a presence, but he waited in his vehicle until the time was right. Once the police left, he decided to enter where she is employed and assault her in a verbal abuse tirade that led to a strong form of depression. Not only did this affect her but it also impacted the people that where there. She noticed this, and while she was confident that it wouldn’t have been a big deal if she was alone, she found herself despondent because those that were present had to experience a man threatening her life. Embarrassment is the strongest emotion she felt that night, she made this clear, and she never should have to worry about others when her mental and physical state was being assaulted.
So what is the important take away from this interaction? It isn’t simple, there is a lot emotion compacted into the words above and men attacking (whether physical or mental) should not be able to walk away without some punitive measure. But there is something else, something we all can do for our fellow human being… everyone has a shitty day and often there are people who have dealt with issues that you will never experience. So, when they share them with you, do the one thing you can do, listen, and buy them a drink (if you feel the need to give them the cold shoulder, take a moment to reconsider–they may need you).
I hope she never has this happen to her again, because no one should feel embarrassment or fear because of someone else. Enjoy the tequila, lemonade, and cranberry – I wish the drink was shared over a joyous story instead of a depressing experience with a stalker – maybe next time. I appreciate you and your current boyfriend sharing such a deeply traumatic experience with me, and I hope that this one post will help others. That’s the best I can do at this time.
Read MoreManuscript 7 – Not Even a Working Title
If you are paying attention to the posts, you will notice the time between the previous post and this post are within an hour. That’s because I had two topics to discuss! You’ll also notice… that this is the announcement of my newest project – the seventh manuscript. Now many would say, “Finish Bohr’s Bathos, then start a new project!” Well, I don’t work that way. When I finish a manuscript, I will read through it twice while performing edits, then I will print it, and put it in a filing cabinet. During those two editing sessions, I will begin the process of outlining my newest project. Once done with the edits, I will begin writing the new project. After some time has passed, I will open the cabinet and do a read through of an older manuscript (not the most recent, which is Bohr’s Bathos in this case). Then, I will put that one away and keep working on the newest manuscript. At sometime, I will open the cabinet and begin a detailed revision of the most recently completed manuscript (in this case Bohr’s Bathos). I do this so I get away from that piece. I let my mind forget what I had written, where I had lived, and try to read it as someone who knows nothing about the work. Then it goes away again while I work on the newest manuscript.
Man am I excited! I came up with this manuscript’s base world and main characters about two months ago. I wrote the kernel down, fleshed out the idea a little, and over time fantasized myself alongside the characters. Each time I went there, I learned more and studied the people I would be writing about. I twisted their souls and minds. They reacted and I jotted down the different responses. Soon, I discovered who would be my main character. I tinkered with the structure in the shower and ran out naked and dripping wet to write down what I concluded. The hazy began to form into objects and I knew it was close. But, I don’t start a new project till the previous one is done, and so I kept moving forward on Bohr’s Bathos. Now, with that manuscript completed, I get to go back to that world, pour over the notes, think of new pathways, develop the major outline, and build the supporting cast. It will be a fun month!
Read MoreBohr’s Bathos – First Draft Completed
In the last two weeks, I’ve had zero time to write as I’ve been working on different projects/obligations. Knowing that there was a predestine slump, I had pushed hard on myself to complete Bohr’s Bathos before I was drawn into life. I did well, but I didn’t finish the manuscript in time to avoid the two week hiatus. I ended up with the final three chapters staring at me as I moved in and out of my office. Just sitting there, on my desk, was my notebook with the completed outlines staring at me and begging to be turned into words on a page. So today, after a long week of work, I made a pot of tea, drank a coffee, and cranked away. As always when finishing a manuscript, I slowed as each period took me closer to completing this project. Each sentence leading me to an ending that I didn’t want to happen – not the real ending in the piece but the end of writing this manuscript. It will have revisions, edits, and maybe some additions, but I know the story is complete.
So the first draft comes in at a whopping: 106,724 words. My second longest manuscript (though not even close to my longest – off by about 20,000 words).
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